The Suez Canal Authority released images of a successful two-way traffic test in the southern part of the seaway. The Canal Authority is continuing to push forward with its efforts to improve navigation in the canal and capacity despite the year-long disruptions due to the Houthi attacks on shipping south of the Canal.
The latest effort will add just over six miles (10 km) of two-way traffic in the southern part of the canal in an area called Little Bitter Lake. It is south of Great Bitter Lake which has traditionally been used as a waypoint on the transit as the north and southbound convoys alternate in the narrower sections of the Suez.
The authority began to accelerate its efforts to modernize the canal after the 2021 incident with the Ever Given which blocked transit for a week and raised widespread fears for global shipping. The effort includes dredging and the creation of additional channel sections. According to the Chairman and Managing Director of the Authority, Admiral Ossama Rabiee the project is adding capacity and safety to the operation. He said it would help to reduce the impact of wind and currents, which was cited as one of the contributing factors to Even Given’s grounding and blocking of the canal.
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Before conducting the test in the canal, they reported new navigation buoys had been established. They previously conducted trial maneuvers and simulations in the canal’s training facility. The bulk carriers Fu Xing Hai (38,800 dwt registered in Hong Kong) and Suvari Bey (23,900 dwt registered in St Vincent and Grenadines) transited through the new lane in Little Bitter Lake on Saturday, December 28. In the eastbound channel heading north, four vessels including the containership Mathilde Schulte (30,300 dwt registered in Singapore), the cargo ships COSCO Shipping Teng Da (61,600 dwt registered in China), and bulk carriers Yangtze Alpha (56,700 dwt registered in the Marshall Islands) and the Rui Fu Cheng (55,600 registered in Liberia) made the transit at the same time.
Highlights from the successful experimental operation of the Suez Canal's duplication in the Small Bitter Lakes by the transit of two vessels through the new waterway#Suezcanal pic.twitter.com/2Oudv707wx
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To ensure safety during the trial the Suez Canal Authority assigned two escort tugs to the area. They also used their most capable pilots to guide the vessels. The authority declared the test a success. The channel will be added to the route as soon as new navigation charts can be issued.
It is the latest step to prepare for the expansion of the canal with the SCA reporting this stretch provides the capacity for six to eight more vessels were day. At its peak the Suez Canal in 2023 set a new record handling nearly 60 vessels each in the north and southbound convoys in a day. When the expansion is completed, they will have added more than 18 miles (30 km) for additional lanes in the southern section of the canal.
Industry trade group BIMCO however in its year-end forecast for containership predicted that the disruptions and rerouting of ships away from the Suez Canal was likely to continue through most of 2025. They believe it will be 2026 before Egypt sees a full return of ships to the canal. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi last Thursday, December 26, confirmed that the year-long attacks by the Houthi have cost Egypt around $7 billion in lost revenue from the Suez Canal. That is approximately 60 percent of the canal’s annual revenues but he said the modernization and expansion would continue.
The Suez Canal Authority also highlights that the program also prepares the canal to accommodate larger vessels. In addition, it provides greater flexibility and the capabilities to better respond to future emergencies in the canal.
